Thursday, July 08, 2010

Blago the 'bully' puts the squeeze on for more than just lunch money

Though his mop top and beady eyes recalled the plucky orphan Dondi, evidently the cartoon character former Gov. Rod Blagojevich saw himself as was more like Nelson Muntz, scourge of the schoolyard in "The Simpsons."

In a recording played for jurors at Blagojevich's corruption trial Wednesday, Blagojevich is heard talking on the phone on Oct. 22, 2008, to Gerald Krozel, then chairman of the American Concrete Pavement Association.

"The good news for you guys is — which is the bad news for us — is after the first of the year, this level of it will, you know, pretty much be over," Blagojevich says, referring to a state ethics law taking effect in 2009 that targeted pay-to-play politics by banning those with large state contracts from making campaign contributions to the government offices that award those contracts.

Not that the Blagojevich administration had been grabbing road builders by the wrist, forcing their hands to slap their own faces while saying "Stop hitting yourself"— a favorite trick of Bart Simpson's main tormentor.

But, as the prosecution alleges and Blagojevich himself seems to acknowledge, they were holding off on releasing billions of dollars for Illinois Tollway reconstruction until the road builders came through with significant donations to Friends of Blagojevich.

It wasn't as blatant as twisting an arm until your victim coughs up his lunch money, but Krozel testified that he got the message and "sure did" feel the pressure.

And Blagojevich's use of the word "bully" was "the clearest acknowledgment we've heard so far of what was going on in the governor's office," said former TV political reporter Andy Shaw, who now heads the Better Government Association and is helping cover the trial for WLS-AM 890.

"Bullying was their unspoken MO," Shaw said.

Of course, Blagojevich would hardly be the first politician in Illinois or elsewhere to use threats — or, their close cousins, promises — to extract donations.

As the Tribune's Blagojevich on Trial blog reported, Krozel acknowledged on cross-examination that, back in the 1980s, he'd spoken to Gov. James Thompson about a pending Eisenhower Expressway project. Thompson told him, "You've got to get politically involved," Krozel said. And sure enough, donations flowed and the project began.

"Previous administrations have been a lot more subtle," said Cindi Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. "They've put on the squeeze, sure, but using nods and winks. Blagojevich turned it into a contact sport."

Industries, interest groups, unions and others hoping to advance their agendas give money to politicians in the hope that the pols, once in office, will return the favor in some way.

And pols, shaking the money tree, imply to their donors that the investment will pay off.

The bribery or bullying, if that's what you want to call it, can go both ways, as Canary pointed out. "Campaign finance dynamic is a two-way street, and the politico is as likely to do the shaking down as the special interest," she said.

Big donors or donor groups threatening to withhold critical financial support if particular proposals aren't implemented or killed are also behaving like thugs.

Blagojevich's use of the verb "bully" in an unguarded moment "ought to be a teaching moment," said Shaw. "Once this trial is over, we ought to think about building more firewalls."

And those whose starry-eyed vision of campaign cash as merely the equivalent of political speech need to spend a little more time on the legislative playground, and listen more attentively for the sound of Nelson Muntz's triumphant cackle, "Ha Ha!"

Fine more tape transcripts and other Blago trial coverage in Change of Subject here)

Comments

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---If Governor Blagojevich wanted to maximize campaign contributions from state contractors, he would have raised taxes on Illinois citizens. Instead he kept his campaign promise to the Illinois citizens who elected him and held his ground against tax increases. The evidence shows that Governor Blagojevich repeatedly sought to adhere to the fundraising laws in place, not break them. I'm not sure why it is criminal to communicate changes in fundraising law to affected parties.

--I'm sure the government's case is all a 'sham', Dave. And we're all grateful Blagojevich ran up a $12 billion deficit, rather than raise taxes.

Recently, our current governor passed an anti-bullying law to curb harassment in schools. Usually this is a problem confined to children, but after reading the transcripts, apparently the Blagojevichs never grew up.

Dave- you truly are an idiot. You daily shilling for a criminal has gotten to the point of being ridiculous. Talk all you want about how "he kept your taxes down," but let's hear what you have to say in a year, after Illinois defaults on all it's obligations, after we are all paying huge taxes, all courtesy of you idol. You and your Blago worshiping ilk (all ten of them) are who we have to blame for the coming disasters here in Illinois.

> Blago's phony anti-tax stand is going to cause the biggest tax increase in Illinois history.

No, the pension system championed by Madigan and Cullerton over the past 30 years is going to cause the biggest tax increase in Illinois history. Governor Blagojevich sounded the alarm in 2005 about using debt to pay the pension obligations.

You people deserve Governor Quinn, who can barely wait to raise your taxes.

ZORN REPLY -- This is one of Blagojevich's mantras -- they wanted me out of the way so they could raise your taxes.

But did it happen? No. Blago was ousted nearly two years before the next legislative election -- in plenty of time for this evil scheme to play out well before legislators had to face the voters. And yet it didn't happen.

Meanwhile, another Blago claim -- that he was focused on appointing Lisa to the Senate to do good for people -- is looking more and more bizarre. Now we learn from the transcripts that as late as Dec. 4, just before he was arrested, no one from his team had even approached Madigan with this nutty notion.

Readers want to know, Dave, and so do I -- what's your interest in this? Are you being paid to haunt the message boards and offer pro Blago spin? It seems to be all you do.

> You and your Blago worshiping ilk (all ten of them) are who we have to blame for the coming disasters here in Illinois.

Wow, who knew we were so influential? But you are wrong as usual.

You and the "Blame Blagojevich" crowd are sheep blindly doing the bidding of the same manipulators who created the problems in Springfield. I thought after Blagojevich's impeachment and removal from office that Illinois was going to be a sunshine state. Instead the recommendations of the advisory reform council were SHOT DOWN by the same people who impeached Blagojevich. Congratulations suckers, the only guy who was protecting you from these people has been removed from office, not by an election but by a political coup.

ZORN REPLY - Readers want to know, Dave, and so do I -- what's your interest in this? Are you being paid to haunt the message boards and offer pro Blago spin? It seems to be all you do.

Actually, Eric..I would like to know the same from you. Are you getting paid to offer an anti-Blago spin in your columns? It seems to be all you do.

Blago has a lot of enemies out there, with more than adequate means at their disposal.

ZORN REPLY -- Readers understand, Stosh, that I'm paid to offer my opinions based on research, and that my opinions are my own. And, here's a part you won't relate to, I put my own, full name to them so people can judge the source.

---Dave wrote
"You and the "Blame Blagojevich" crowd are sheep blindly doing the bidding of the same manipulators who created the problems in Springfield. I thought after Blagojevich's impeachment and removal from office that Illinois was going to be a sunshine state. Instead the recommendations of the advisory reform council were SHOT DOWN by the same people who impeached Blagojevich. Congratulations suckers, the only guy who was protecting you from these people has been removed from office, not by an election but by a political coup.

BAAHHH, BAAAHH!"

Sure- the evidence, in Blago's own recorded words, make him just look SO caring about the taxpayers of this state. Really a "man of the people!"

But, I do agree with you on one point- although I never voted for any Illinois democrat, I agree- the people of this state deserve the filthy government they've voted for.

Actually, Blagojevich was notorious for deferring the pension payment, doing so in 04 and 05. Also, his administration issued 10 billion or so in 30 year bonds to fund the pensions (a rather lucrative deal for Blagojevich, Rezko, and Levine if memory serves). Far from warning the state about pension borrowing, Blagojevich pioneered it.

> But did it happen? No. Blago was ousted nearly two years before the next legislative election -- in plenty of time for this evil scheme to play out well before legislators had to face the voters. And yet it didn't happen.

Not for a lack of will or effort. Quinn wanted to raise taxes right away without even looking at potential cuts. He literally believes bigger government is better. We can thank Governor Blagojevich for drawing attention to the scheme and putting political pressure on Springfield not to raise taxes.

> Readers want to know, Dave, and so do I -- what's your interest in this? Are you being paid to haunt the message boards and offer pro Blago spin? It seems to be all you do.

I've been around a long time and post messages on many different topics. I am nobody's shill. I recognized from Day 1 that the case against Blagojevich was being prosecuted in the public court of opinion instead of a court of law. That sounded the alarm to me. I know a railroad prosecution when I see one, and I will do all I can to fight it. The Illinois General Assembly used to stand up against railroad prosecutions and defend the unfairly accused. Now they cower to Mike Madigan and his flunkies and hope to be showered with campaign funds.

ZORN REPLY -- So it was Blago sounding the alarm that shamed Madigan into NOT raising taxes after Blago's ouster as Blago repeatedly insisted was part of his evil scheme? My.

And Blago, who repeatedly circumvented or perverted the legislative process in order to dole out goodies, was a small government guy compared to Quinn? Whose payroll is smaller?

Sorry, Stosh, but I think your comment about Blago's millions and millions of supporters contained a one letter typo: it should have said HAD millions of supporters, not HAS.

Most of those remaining supporters called into his radio show every Sunday and lavished praise on him and said they hope he runs for governor again.

Blago is so out of touch with reality that he would respond that he might just do that. Earth to Blago: the Illinois legilature passed a law that barred him from running for office in Illinois ever again. If he decides to challenge that with a quixotic lawsuit, hopefully he will do it on his own dime and not the public's. ($400,000 would be able to buy some serious legal support, I think).

That being said, the number of supporters is probably closer to 10 than it is to "millions and millions" right now.

Remember that one of Blago's heroes, Richard Nixon, won reelection by the biggest landslide in US history before people realized that he was a criminal.

> Earth to Blago: the Illinois legilature passed a law that barred him from running for office in Illinois ever again.

Hahaha. I would like to see them try to enforce that law, especially if he is acquitted. The law is a shameful reminder of the political hysteria that swept through Springfield that led to this cheap opportunistic ploy by the Madigans.

Dave -- Whether Blago is acquitted or not, the impeachment and ban on his running for office again in this state is separate and permanent. For all his and your wishful thinking, he's not going to be reinstated governor or run for any elected office in this state ever again.

As for your other question, when I want to emphasize a word or phrase, I put 'single' marks around the words. When I'm quoting some one's exact words I use the "double" quotation marks. I believe the reporters covering the Trib's Blagojevich blog are doing the same. Hence, your attempt to change the subject and throw a hissy fit over the words 'a sham' on that blog is just another diversion from addressing the damning testimony against Blago.

Also, I just like pulling your chain.

My apologies to other posters, this is an ongoing argument between Dave and I from the other blog.

ZORN REPLY -- I'm not really following this "sham" debate very carefully, but I'll tell you this as a general thing: If Bob Secter, who is a hell of a good journalist, puts quotes around a word, it's not to emphasize it but to indicate that an identifiable person said those words. We don't use single quotes (or even double quotes) to emphasize words in the Tribune or on the Tribune site.

Wendy, you and other Tribune apologists are just aiding and abetting the political persecution of Rod Blagojevich, a U.S. citizen and the one and true governor of Illinois. I have aptly identified numerous instances of biased reporting against Blagojevich in the Chicago Tribune, including the headline quoting the word "sham" as if it were testimony. I have identified Sam Zell as fitting the FBI profile of the criminally motivated more so than Blagojevich. Zell swears up a storm, he buys custom suits from a fancy retailer (Syd Jerome) like he is a real dandy or head of state, his high-stakes gamble in the Tribune was failing, he stood to lose hundreds of millions of dollars, and the Tribune stood to reap $100 million in tax benefits from official state action orchestrated by Big Jim Thompson. We cannot expect to hear the full and true story from the Tribune, and I am filling in the gaps for their readers. The antics of Patrick Fitzgerald are over the top but barely given a mention in the Tribune. It's clear that Fitzgerald's office and the Tribune are very tight. I have yet to hear a call for an investigation for the wiretap leak from the U.S. attorney's office to the Tribune that jeopardized this case for the feds. It was an intentional leak to protect Obama and force the case to a premature conclusion. The feds are walking a tightrope trying to keep other politicians from being implicated under the same standards being applied to the scapegoat Blagojevich. The Supreme Court even went so far as to redefine the honest services law to be about bribes and kickbacks even though the legal reasoning (providing by one of Obama's University of Chicago law professor peers) is highly questionable. If this is the case of the century and poor Honest Abe's peace has been disturbed, then there should be no need to convict Blagojevich by jumping through legal hoops and unethically prejudicing the public against the accused. This should be common sense but instead the hysteria of a witchhunt prevails.

Dave, no one who relies solely on press reports to determine whether the case against Blagojevich is sound really knows what he or she is talking about. The press reports only the salacious tidbits - not the long, and no doubt utterly boring, record of what transpired during this whole sordid mess. So unless you have gotten access to the court transcripts AND are intimately familar with the laws that our former governor is charged with I doubt whether your opinion is worth much when you say that this is a weak case. The only people who may have an informed opinion are (possibly) the members of the jury and the judge and I'm assuming you're not one of them.

Now I will take you at your word that your sole motivation is to see that justice is served but I can't for the life of me see how you can expend so much effort arguing on behalf of someone who, if not guilty of the offenses he's charged with, is at the very least an utterely vain, self-aggandizing, venal and repulsive character. That he is those things should be obvious to anyone who HAS read the press reports and has followed his record in office over the past decade.

I say this as someone who voted for him in 2002 (though I voted for Vallas in the primary and voted for Whitney in 2006). I bitterly regret that vote and I apologize to my fellow Illinois citizens for having done so.

Steve, the reason I defend Blagojevich is it is not a crime to be a character, but it is his character that has been criminalized here. That is a hallmark of a railroad prosecution: the unsympathetic defendant. (See the Zion case for a current example.) The Wall Street Journal published a very insightful editorial on how unethical prosecutors abuse the honest services law:

The Black reversal is another blot on U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who has previously abused legal process in his extrajudicial public declarations against I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby and former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. In Mr. Libby's case, Mr. Fitzgerald gave reporters the impression at a news conference that Mr. Libby had obstructed his ability to find out who leaked the name of CIA analyst Valerie Plame when he already knew the leaker was Richard Armitage. This was a deceptive attempt to poison media and public opinion against Mr. Libby.

The Black and Skilling cases are precisely the kind involving high-profile, unsympathetic defendants in which willful prosecutors like Mr. Fitzgerald are inclined to abuse the honest services law. They know the media won't write about the legal complexities, and they know juries are often inclined to find a rich CEO guilty of something. We regret that in the case of Mr. Black, that failure of media oversight included us.

We agree with Justice Scalia that the Court would have been wiser to toss out the entire honest services statute and force Congress to define precisely the specific behavior it wants to criminalize. But yesterday's decisions are nonetheless a victory against prosecutors who would use vague laws to turn legal if unpopular behavior into crimes.

All I can say Dave is that of all the examples of injustice that abound in this world your choosing to be so vocal about the treatment of this contemptible jerk makes me wonder about your priorities. And you never really answered my question of: why so passionate about him? This seems to occupy you full-time.

I also find your vilification of Patrick Fitzgerald odd. He doesn't write the laws, but it his job to bring prosections under them. And he doesn't convict - he merely presents a case. If you think a particular law is stupid or unjust then take it up with your congressman. If you think a particular conviction was bogus then you have a beef with the jurors on that particular case.

And please, try and find a cause that is a little more noble to argue for.

Please excuse the interruption, I surely don't wish to criticize your interesting tirade, but where's your evidence the U.S. Attorney's office leaked information to the Tribune? What evidence do you have this 'leak' was to protect Obama or anyone else? What evidence do you have that anything published by the Tribune is false and, as a result, biased? Why do you Blago apologists continue to try to redirect the focus away from his activities, by blaming everyone else connected to the case?

Blago calls himself an honest, law abiding servant of the people. Selfless and dedicated to the citizens of Illinois. He says, like you, everyone is lying about his character and his behavior. As such, his character and behavior are open to question, as this is the motivation behind his crimes.

We are the millions of people of Illinois who are already taxed to death and appreciate a governor who was not sticking his hand deeper in our pockets. We appreciate a governor who stood up to the Mike Madigans and special interests and exposed the inner workings of Springfield. We appreciate a governor who did not sell out to the political elite and join their Springfield country clubs, cocktailing the night away, drunk on power. We appreciate a governor who valued a normal neighborhood life for his family, instead of the trappings of a state-sponsored mansion. We appreciate a governor who valued low-cost health care and transportation for our senior citizens. Our voices are rarely heard except on election day, when we joined together to elect and re-elect Rod Blagoejvich as the one and true people's governor.

Ignoring the distractions of Obama and the honest services law, if, as Dave has repeatedly claimed, the prosecution has not come close to meeting its burden of proof in its case, the judge would likely grant the defense motion to dismiss all charges at the condclusion of the government's case. The trial would be over, and Blago would walk, perhaps in time to run for governor in November.

Life is good in Dave's world...

In betting terminology, this is known as a long shot.

ZORN REPLY -- The defense will make such a motion and it will be denied. Blago can't run for governor because he can never again hold state office due to legislative ruling. And Dave and others have to remember that even if he is acquitted on all charges, he will not have been "vindicated." There is no doubt, from what we've heard, that he was a lazy, selfish, inept governor who schemed to use his power against his enemies. That will be the BEST you can say about him at the end of this trial.

Michael, I agree that a summary judgment would be appropriate based on the lack of evidence presented by the prosecution. However weak the case is, I also understand that the deck is stacked against Blagojevich with 24 charges totaling up to 415 years in federal prison and $6 million fine. The goverment has nothing to lose by accusing Blagojevich of multiple counts of trumped-up charges (mail fraud, wire fraud, racketeering, conspiracy, perjury, obstruction of justice, blah blah blah). He is forced to fight an accumulation of charges and even if he wins 23 of them, he could still be found guilty on the cheap honest services law and face up to 20 years in prison. This type of selective and malicious prosecution is another hallmark of a railroad prosecution.

> where's your evidence the U.S. Attorney's office leaked information to the Tribune? What evidence do you have this 'leak' was to protect Obama or anyone else?

Wendy, we need an investigation and special prosecutor to determine the source of the criminal leak. I would suggest Patrick Fitzgerald investigate his own office, but then again he screwed up the Libby leak investigation. But surely he has a great interest in finding out who potentially jeopardized the seven-year, multimillion dollar investigation into Governor Blagojevich. Fitzgerald needs to slap obstruction of justice charges against the perp and possibly charge for even more crimes (wire and mail fraud?). I am just trying to help out the U.S. attorney's office. Fitzgerald goes to great lengths to get convictions and this one could bring him the biggest headlines yet.

> ZORN REPLY -- I'm not really following this "sham" debate very carefully, but I'll tell you this as a general thing: If Bob Secter, who is a hell of a good journalist, puts quotes around a word, it's not to emphasize it but to indicate that an identifiable person said those words. We don't use single quotes (or even double quotes) to emphasize words in the Tribune or on the Tribune site.

... a new ethics law that would all but eliminate *the governor's ability to hit up* state contractors for donations

... prosecutors have accused Blagojevich of trying to press Krozel for $500,000 in donations *in the shakedown*.

ZORN REPLY -- I was not there for this testimony nor do I have a transcript (the transcripts posted to this site and others are transcripts of the phone calls, not the examinations and cross examinations). So I can't vouch for who exactly said what, I can and will vouch for Secter's reputation as a careful, accurate journalist. If he wrote this blog headline, then I'm confident Greenlee either said the word or answered affirmatively to a direct question that included the word.

Beyond that, though, "sham" certainly seems like a fair and accurate summary of the process as Greenlee described it. Are you making the argument that the process was honest and thorough and above board? Surely not.

Dave, if Zorn says Bob Secter put the single quote marks around the phrase 'a sham' to indicate that an identifiable person said those words, then Greenlee said it. If you still want to call all Trib reporters liars, I'm done, there's no point in continuing this argument. Why I keep trying to reason with you must mean I'm losing my mind.

If this were 2002 to, say, 2005, I'd give you some latitude, but how can you make this comment after what's indisputably been in evidence over the past month. It's still up to the jury to determine his criminal guilt, but, to paraphrase Zorn, there can be NO DISPUTING that he is, to use a very prejudicial term, a real sc*mbag.

Your comments are so off the deep end, that I'm beginning to think that you're a Tribune employee hired to be a "devil's advocate" and provoke responses to your "ideas".

Dave you remind me of a women who hired a private investigator to follow her husband because she suspected he was behaving badly....when the investigator reported back to her with video, photos, and credit card receipts of her husband with another women... she reviewed the evidence and replied, "that's not my husband"...Dave, you see what you want to see but your not alone...Maybe when Milorad goes to jail you can hook up with Patti..

ZORN REPLY -- The joke I heard involves a private eye hired to follow a woman her husband suspects of adultery. He reports back, yes, I saw her meet up with this man, yes I followed them to a nightclub where they had drinks and sat close, yes then I followed them to a hotel where they checked into a second story room. Yes, I climbed a tree outside and was peering in the window when I saw them begin to disrobe. But, alas, I fell out of the tree at that point.
Argh, says the husband. Always the element of doubt!

Dave; Seeing you are Milorad's greatest defender I think you are the only one who can answer this for me...When Milorad was arrested Home Land Security cut him off on all updates putting the citizens of Illinois at risk... IF he cared about the people of Illinois I would think he would put his own self interest aside and step down for that reason alone...Why didn't he step down?

"We are the millions of people of Illinois who are already taxed to death and appreciate a governor who was not sticking his hand deeper in our pockets. We appreciate a governor who stood up to the Mike Madigans and special interests and exposed the inner workings of Springfield. We appreciate a governor who did not sell out to the political elite and join their Springfield country clubs, cocktailing the night away, drunk on power. We appreciate a governor who valued a normal neighborhood life for his family, instead of the trappings of a state-sponsored mansion. We appreciate a governor who valued low-cost health care and transportation for our senior citizens," quoth Dave.

Do you appreciate a governor who only went to the office 2-8 hours a week? How about a governor who hid in the bathroom rather than discussing budget decisions? A governor who had to be cornered and pinned down to do any, you know, actual governing? Who spent about 98% of his time scheming to use his office for personal financial benefit?

You say your interest is in protesting against a "railroad prosecution," but your comments show that you're more involved in some bizarre, willfully counterfactual mythologizing of Blagojevich (see the repetition of your "one and true people's governor" catchphrase - sounds like something out of a legend about a persecuted hero). That is what so many of us find incomprehensible.

About "Change of Subject."

"Change of Subject" by Chicago Tribune op-ed columnist Eric Zorn contains observations, reports, tips, referrals and tirades, though not necessarily in that order. Links will tend to expire, so seize the day. For an archive of Zorn's latest Tribune columns click here. An explanation of the title of this blog is here. If you have other questions, suggestions or comments, send e-mail to ericzorn at gmail.com.
More about Eric Zorn

Contributing editor Jessica Reynolds is a 2012 graduate of Loyola University Chicago and is the coordinator of the Tribune's editorial board. She can be reached at jreynolds at tribune.com.